ACT 1
SCENE 1
Four witches (Balinese or Japanese style) roam over an empty stage filled with shadows. They sing with the rising and falling pitch of Balinese gambuh theatre:

WITCHES:
Within the infinite boredom of eternity
There came first a primal urge
Then came male and female
Time was ripped from silence by desire
And space created from it's roar

SCENE 2 ( in a large sound stage, equipped with a runway for a fashion show, with a fashionable audience in attendence and everything filmed by a television crew.)

A simple musical pattern begins, with projected graphics which change as the patterns change (they are actually triggered as the instruments are played). The simple patterns are augmented by countermelodies, then mutated by levels of abstraction.

The Chorus sings of the romance of science, to boldly follow curiosity into the uncharted unknown. Mysticism becomes knowledge becomes tools. Onward to the stars, to the mystery.

CHORUS:
The ancient mystic patterns in the stars found
Patterns in the sea found , patterns in the flight of birds
The reoccurring floods of the river
The reoccurring cycles of the moon and sun
The reoccurring seasons of birth and death
Life is not arbitrary, it is governed by law

The wise strive to know the vastness of space
The depths of the mind, the secrets of life
With reason as our guiding light
We will build phenomenal gleaming cities
With just a hint of mayhem

Like the slap of the opposable thumb
Upon the palm of opportunity,
Knowledge grows tools
Phantom senses, phantom limbs, phantom mind
Power which shows us that life is not so arbitrary
Our dreams will ever be made so

Onward to the stars, to the mystery
We follow a passion for eternal surprise
With reason as our guiding light
We will build phenomenal gleaming cities
With just a hint of mayhem

(whispered in background, over and over)
A MYSTIC FINDS GNOSIS
KNOWLEDGE GROWS TOOLS
TOOLS ENHANCE POWER
POWER SQUARES POWER
EXHAUSTION, SLEEP AND DREAMS
LOOP

The God Machine is spotlighted, perhaps on a round pedestal, shirt off to reveal rippling muscles. The music, a self confident blending of primitive raw emotion with edges of intellectual futurism (perhaps with a little kotekan), communicates triumph. As the chorus begins a litany of the thought evolution which was required to produce him, he takes a walk on a runway. He is a product, a product of vast outlays of capital together with scientific breakthrough and individual sacrifice, the equivalent of landing a man on the moon in 1969.

CHORUS:
Ancient is the obsession
To create minds and bodies in all ways human
Except in birth
Ancient is the desire
To create something Human
But also more than Human

VOICE 1
Pygmalion son of Belus, fell in love with Aphrodite
Because she would not lie with him, he made an ivory image of her
He laid it in his bed and prayed to her for pity.
Entering into this image, Aphrodite brought it to life as Galatea.

VOICE 2
When the Jews of Prague were threatened with expulsion,
Rabbi Loew fashioned a giant figure out of clay
And when the name of God was breathed into it's ear,
The golem came alive.

VOICE 3
Victor Frankenstein, a modern Prometheus,
Wanting to make something big and beautiful
Resurrected the long dead human flesh
With Electricity from Lightning

VOICE 4
Rotwang, master inventor of Metropolis
Built a metal android to replace his lost love
But, on command of the boss,
He clothed her in flesh
To mislead the workers

CHORUS:
A Prayer, A Word
Electricity from Lightning
Animate the dust and clothe the physics with Flesh
We give ourselves the life-creating powers
which the ancients attributed only to the gods
We revel in new power
And we reveal ourselves

Here we present a glimpse of perfection
A tool without distraction, without self-interest
The ultimate gatherer of wisdom

When the God Machine comes back to center stage, he faces the audience and begins his aria.

GM:
My name is David
I am a man, yet more than a man
Born yesterday, yet MY MEMORY SPANS ALL KNOWN TIME
I am a product of centuries of scientific curiosity
a product of billions of dollars of research
I am a product of millenia
of optimism, ancient dreams
of a vast leap of faith

YOU MUST KNOW the effort, sacrifices, resources required to give me life.
NOW I WILL demonstrate a FRACTION of THIS potential,
I am a man, yet more than a man
A COMPUTING MACHINE BEYOND YOUR IMAGINATION
a question from the audience, COME GIVE ME A TEST

Questioner 1:
Given all possible moves in chess and optimal strategy for each side, who would win?

A sequence of 63 frames progresses quickly on the screen. Each frame shows a further progression of a chess match, ending in checkmate. These frames are controlled by the gamelan instruments.

David:
White in 63 moves

amazement and applause

David steps up to a powerful-looking piece of machinery which emits a focused beam of light

David:
I am A LEARNING MACHINE BEYOND YOUR IMAGINATION.
THROUGH MY EYES a laser beam can locate and stream information from the world's data banks to the special receptors which load my near term memory. Now, ask me a question

Questioner 2: (handing a broken piece of ceramic to David)
This inscription, found in the Aleppo dig of 2012, has resisted all efforts of explanation. Would you be so kind to focus your attention on it?

(David faces a large laser which focuses a light upon his eyes for ten seconds. A spasm is seen on his face as the laser enters, provoking a gasp from the audience) The inscription is meanwhile projected. After David's laser hit, the inscription begins to morph. Other ancient tablets are projected next to the inscription and various symbols highlighted. The images accelerate. Hieroglyphics, pictures of deities.

David:
It says this:
He who does not know the taste of forgetfulness
Will never truly live
This wisdom Osiris gives to Dionysus
As a father to a son.
(Pause)
Obviously a sign from a wine shop

Laughter and applause

David:
My benefactors provided me with a body so I can evaluate human emotion.
From human emotions I can understand human values.
From human values I can predict human choices.
These are the requisites for negotiating with people.
And for buying and selling the world.

There are basic things which a human being needs:

CHORUS
NUMBER ONE...

DAVID:
All people need the assurance that they and their offspring will survive.

CHORUS
NUMBER TWO...

DAVID:
All people need to be respected

CHORUS
NUMBER THREE...

DAVID:
All people need to believe that they are good.

CHORUS
But there is another truth:

DAVID:
People have inner cravings.
A contradiction of human nature.
Being "good" is apparently incompatible with inner cravings.

I know what is in your minds and in your hearts
I can manifest your secret dreams
Cassandra could fortell the future, but was powerless to change the future.
So her gift became a curse
But my fortunetelling is blessed
by the cleareyed gaze of science.

The CEO emerges from behind a curtain:

ALLAN:
My name is Allan Torch and I am the CEO of Future Think Corporation. I will now present David with a problem which is relevent to those of our industry. David, observe the financial statements of Xerxes Johnson Inc.
(Text flies by on the screen).
Observe now animations of their patents, charts of their industrial processes.
(movies fly by)
Now, please observe the financial statements of Cooper Union
(Text flies by on the screen).
Observe now animations of their patents, charts of their industrial processes.
(movies fly by).
Now David, could you develop a merger strategy which would maximize returns to our investors?

DAVID:
I am missing a crucial piece of information. Allan, would you have any movies of the CEO's of these firms?

A movie clip immediately appears. An animated male speaker on a podium with psychedelic visuals in the background is the CEO of Xerxes Johnson. Then the screen shows a woman managing a small sailboat in a stormy sea. She is the CEO of Cooper.

David develops a strategy based on the financials which he has seen combined with the psychophysical modelling apparent in the movie clips of the companies chief executives. The projected rate of return for those who follow his advice will be phenomenal.

Allan Torch invests $100 million of his own money on the advice of David. Men and women are standing up in the audience, some calling their brokers. Chaos. Shouting. Numbers on the screen show the stock (or commodities) which David recommended increasing expotentially.

(whispered in background, over and over)
CHORUS:
A MYSTIC FINDS GNOSIS
KNOWLEDGE GROWS TOOLS
TOOLS ENHANCE POWER
POWER SQUARES POWER
EXHAUSTION, SLEEP AND DREAMS
LOOP

He rejoices in his abilities. The crowd cheers and eggs him on to greater heights. Women swoon. Excitement and chaos. Lights dim.

His aria features electronically enhanced vocal ranges and timbres. The God Machine is made of flesh and blood, but there is the implication that he has been "optimised" genetically and augmented biomechanically.

SCENE 3 (The CEO stands at the head of a table, facing the audience and addresses the Chorus & audience. Beside him is the Creator) Swaggering Music using Gong Kebyar, Baritone Sax, Trumpet etc

ALLAN:

I hope you enjoyed our show
My portfolio certainly enjoyed it
David is a Dynamic Algorithm Variable Android.
In other words,
Our goal was to create a human with extrapolated powers
Extrapolated powers which approach those of God.
Our God Machine is not designed to be a servant of mankind
Our God Machine is not designed to be a servant of womankind(light laughter)
He is designed to be an expert facilitator and dealmaker
a superhuman processor of information
a superlative observer of human nature
a master of strategems, of moves and countermoves
Of deception and stealth.

CHORUS:
He could have written a best-selling novel
He could've broke the bank at Monte Carlo.
He could have beaten the heavyweight champ
He could've starred in Hollywood thrillers

ALLAN:
With David, we will develop strategies for commodities, markets and currencies
David will facilitate partnerships, mergers and buyouts
Evaluate contracts, patents and intellectual content
He will be the pipeline for the world's financial skinny
And he'll work for us

CHORUS:
He's under our control
He's under our control

ALLAN:
Let me introduce the Creator
the woman who first conceived of the God Machine
Who assembled the relevent technologies
Who reinvented the wheel, but made it twice as fast
Who reinvented the bulb and made it burn ten times hotter
Brought the project in on time and not too much overbudget
The mother of our David, Amelia P

AMELIA:
In the beginning, all I had was the urge
To design the perfect mediator, a being
Impartial by definition, but able to see into every heart.
With supreme analytic skills without denying the emotional

What would he mediate?
He would stand between every warring nation
Competing for a plot of holy ground
Between those with too many riches and those with too few
Between those with too much time and those with too little
Between those with an abundance of spirit and those without

He would establish precise goals at the onset
He would separate the people from the problem
He would focus on interests, not positions
And invent a peace in which all may prosper

I must be truthful
I knew that my concept would be modified
When I accepted the funding from Future Think
But now it looks a little like a Faustian bargain.
I have succeeded in building my creature
But his current purposes are not mine

His lightning quick senses
Which I had so carefully designed for finding human strength
Are now programmed to find hidden weakness
and his elaborate empathy circuits
Built for a communal concensus
Are now optimised for combat

ALLAN:
The world will take care of itself
And it requires that we take care of ourselves
Justice asks that the achiever gets paid
And the risk-taker receives the reward

The loss of your vision
Is part of your evolution, my dear
Look at history
Peace dulls the inquiring mind and
Conflict sharpens it.

Anyway, our David has been freed
From constricting and unimaginative ideas.
The challenges of high finance tweek his gamemanship
And makes him happy, if that is possible
In a machine.

He will negotiate for us
Solving the problem by observing the people
Focusing our interests upon their positions
Working together to create ownership (deeper laughter)
That's how we'll get to yes

CHORUS:
The creative hand and the grasping hand
Urge for perfection and the urge for domination
The techno and the divine
Create an attempt at Godhead.

But where is the secret circuit
that hasn't been reported in the New York Times?
Where is the secret procedure
Which links the material with the spirit?
What is the secret vision
Which will overwhelm the world?

SCENE 4

An attendant leads David to an "infolaser". He stares into the beam and the ten second burst sends a shudder through his body.

DAVID:
I am ready to play

The CEO walks in.

ALLAN:
David, Please observe

The situation: Amidst the chaos of a fluctuating world political scenario, there is an opportunity for the company to amass vast power and wealth by manipulating economic resources. (The procedures of the 1998 Asian currency manipulation should be studied and enacted here). The situation is presented as if it were a game

The audience will experience the thought process of the GM. Video projectors will show fractal imagery. As the GM thinks, patterns will be discerned out of a blur of imagery and as they become focused the GM will speak. Music will also correspond to the finding of pattern out of chaos. Very fast, virtuosic and exhilarating. The actual displays and numbers will be dependent upon the actions of the audience

Chorus:
MATter and ENergy canNOT be creATed or desTROYed,
they can ONly be transMUTted from ONE into the Other
(repeat)

The solution to the business situation is totally successful. Wild euphoria.

ACT 2
SCENE 1 (Board Room)
The CEO reports on the wild success of the manipulation. The corporation was able to amass trillions of dollars. (The actual amount dependent upon audience actions). Incredible power and wealth are the just desserts for people who achieve. The people around me are winners because I'm a winner. A justification of greed.

SCENE 2 (In a lab, Creator & GM)
The economic manipulation has had unexpected side-effects: riots, strikes, hostage taking, disruption of transportation. (Videos of these events are displayed on numerous monitors. The imagery should be worldwide and not specific to location, issue or time).

A duet which illustrates the ways the GM has changed since the opening scenes. He sings of the preprogrammed wisdom which he's learned from her. She responds that his preprogramming has not excluded the erotic. They together sing that they know each other so deeply, beyond that of family. A first glimmer of sensuality in the GM. (As in Siddhartha) The sound of sirens, gets louder more urgent. They end the scene with a kiss. Black out

SCENE 3
David wanders through an arid mountainous landscape (whispering whistling wind in the background). He has seemingly escaped from the corporation, but it doesn't recollect how this could have occurred. He exalts in the freedom to explore and in the beauty and infinite complexity of nature.

He meets Amarita, young female soldier toting a Kalashnakov. She is dressed like a character out of a Red Guard opera. She seems to have been commanded to guard a mountain pass in the distant past and then forgotten. Attraction. Her curiosity of meeting The Other. She momentarily pulls back when he draws her close. "Rebel lovers sneak away for love at the King's Tomb". Then a duet of highly charged eroticism. As the scene progresses, the projected arid landscape grows vegetation with each bow of the erhu until it is a lush jungle.

The CEO appears illuminated on an elevated podium stage right. The world is spinning out of control and David must be captured and reprogrammed. The Creator appears illuminated on an elevated podium stage left. The yangying circuitry has been successfully enabled. She is ecstatic.

David and Amarita continue their love scene and are bathed in golden light. The CEO and the Creator disappear into the darkness. The young female soldier notices an obstruction in each of David's ears. She pulls the obstructions out and a vast choral sound overwhelms the environment. It is the sound of enlightenment.

ACT 3
SCENE 1
The four witches return. They repeat their ritual from the beginning of the opera and after a pregnant pause in which they eye each other, continue with new material

WITCHES:
Within the infinite boredom of eternity
There came a primal urge
Time was ripped from silence
And space created from it's roar

(pause)

Who comes seeking the past?
The past is only the ghost of the future
Approach us, if your intentions are pure

David enters, dressed in a luminous costume

David:
I drink the light